Vox’s Victorian Couple Is Twitter’s Latest Punching Bag

"The Victorian woman doesn't allow herself to vote, right?"

One Washington couple is still living like the Victorians in this photo- but Twitter won’t let them get away with it. (Photo courtesy the Met)

This morning, Vox published a piece by Sarah Chrisman called “I love the Victorian era. So I decided to live in it.” In the article, Ms. Chrisman describes how she and her husband, both academics who study the late Victorian era, decided to live like the people they study. They power their Washington home with oil lamps and a kerosene space heater, keep food cold using an icebox, wear historically accurate attire and get around on a high-wheel tricycle.

But while Ms. Chrisman’s commitment to historical detail is admirable, the tone of her piece was off-putting, as was her failure to acknowledge that the Victorian era was not exactly the most fun time for anyone who was not a well-off, white male property owner. Naturally, Twitter was abuzz with discussion.

Some commenters used cold hard facts to dispute Ms. Chrisman’s ideas—artist Kristin Hanley Cardozo went on a lengthy screed against the article’s tone deafness:

If your dream is to live in an era in which white supremacy was scientifically entrenched, moreso than now, FUCK YOU pic.twitter.com/nZEbNnOF07